🎬 Franchises Have Taken Over the Global Box Office
An analysis of box office results for the first quarter of the 21st century confirms that Hollywood has finally turned into a conveyor belt for sequels.
In 2001, only 5 franchise titles made the top 10 highest-grossing films, but by 2018 that number had risen to 10 out of 10.
The early 2000s were a time of experimentation. Studios maintained a balance (5–6 franchises in the top), allowing original films to compete with blockbusters.
The turning point (2011–2018) marked a shift to an “intellectual property” strategy. A franchise means managed risk, a loyal audience, and savings on marketing. The peak came in 2017–2018, when original films disappeared entirely from the top ten.
Today (2023–2025) the situation has stabilised at around 6–9 franchise projects. The industry is no longer chasing total sequel dominance, wary of audience fatigue.
Each new instalment of a major franchise is now not just a film but a rare “strategic event”. Studios deliberately increase budgets and extend gaps between releases to create artificial scarcity and justify audience expectations in an era of fierce competition from streaming.
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